A day of relief

It has been 100+ degrees here in Waco for the past 2-3 weeks. Thankfully, today it is noon and only 75! I always think that because I grew up in Texas that I can stand the heat, but it is not true!

I have spent alot of my free time crafting lately. I have been making headbands to sale at the store I work in (Harts N Crafts). I have sold several! It makes me feel so great when someone buys something that I created.

My lovely friend, Jamie, made me these beautiful tags:
I think they are so 'me'!

so i didn't win the giveaways but...

I got a haircut!

I am just soo excited to have all of that hair gone! My hair was past my shoulder blades. I think i got about 7 inches off.

I probably lost a lb. of hair. My Wii fit will be so proud! ha!

It's friday! I am super excited about that since we have little to no plans this weekend. My main objective is to finish book one of Twilight. Then, perhaps, I will watch the movie?!

Baggu Grosgrain Guest GIVEAWAY!!!!

I could win some stuff so that is why i am posting these links. :)

This particular one is for reusable bags.. you know the kind you can roll up and put in your purse or keep in your car for when you go to the grocery store or Target? I am obsessed and already have plenty, but wouldn't it be exciting to win!
Baggu Grosgrain Guest GIVEAWAY!!!!

Muntedkowhai%Necklace GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Muntedkowhai%Necklace GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I am a big fan of the TV show Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. Recently I saw the episode he did here in Central Texas with Ted Nugent. (Yes, "The Nuge" lives just outside of Waco AND his wife and son can be spotted at the church I go to every once in a while). Sooo I have lived in Waco for years and really haven't found great BBQ. On the show, Ted takes Tony to The Rusty Star BBQ in Speegleville. I figured it must be good! Well folks, my parents came into town yesterday and took me there. It was quite a disapointment! Nothing special to mention. My search for good barbeque continues! If only there were a Harold's here! Yum!

It's Friday! Britt and I are headed to his hometown this weekend to see family and continue the week-long celebration of Britt's birth just 27 years ago! It is going to be fun. I just wish the weather wasn't so yucky! I am pretty sure we are going to be driving the entire way in the rain.

Happy Weekend!

twitter

yet ANOTHER social networking site that i got sucked into. I have heard many people speak negatively toward these types of things (facebook, blogspot, xanga, etc.) and about what a waste of time they are but I do not feel the same way.

I am a social person and I feed off of social interaction. It makes me happy to be connected to people and that is why I love twitter and facebook.

I do understand that you can spend too much of your life on these sites. You could miss a bit of your own reality in your own city, but isn't it nice to know what your long lost pal is going through right now?

With that said, come follow me on twitter! http://twitter.com/HoJoDu

I like reading?!

I have read 4 or so books since Christmas. For me this is unheard of! I didn't enjoy reading until my Junior year at Baylor. I feel like I missed out on some great things by not being reader when I was younger. Better late than never I guess.
Anyways, I am attempting to read the Alchemist right now. Whomever said it was "amazing" was WrOnG! Maybe I am just thinking this since I don't exactly feel like I am seeking my "personal legend." hmmm... I think I may stop reading it and move onto Confessions of a Shopaholic in preparation for the movie.
Movie popcorn sounds pretty good right about now...

I love Christmas!

Christmas if my favorite time of year! I was begging Britt to let me put up Christmas decorations way before Thanksgiving even though I knew better. That was not allowed, so the weekend after Turkey day, we went to work. First, the tree went up. It seemed bare to me (if you saw my mother's tree, you would understand why this seems sparse) so we made some popcorn/cranberry garland!
(i do not have the "after" picture of the tree with garland on it like i thought i did. This is the trouble with having two cameras. You never know what pic is on what camera!)
He is a very talented garland maker
Then, we went outside! We thought long and hard on what lights we wanted. We sprung for the LED lights in order to save electricity, not burn the house down, and of course, live up to the eco-friendly status we have given ourselves. :)
Britt braved the steep roof to get those lights looking good! I must say, they are perfectly spaced and look so nice!

Oh, we had our one year wedding anniversary on Monday! The work day was horrible, but Britt made me feel better with my new beautiful earrings and flowers he got me! We just stayed in, made dinner and had a bottle of wine while watching Love Actually. I love being a Duke!

We are going to spend Christmas with Britt's family this year. My first time not to be in Abilene on Christmas. Kind of crazy, but I am excited for the new traditions and seeing everyone!

Happy Holly Days!
(so cheesy, I know!)

big dreams for waco

i saw this proposal on the trib website and it is crazy! What if Waco looked like this in 2015? Impressive.

Yes We Can!

woohoo!

*photo courtesy of www.aaronsacco.com

ornamental things

so harts~n~crafts got some new necklaces that are from ornamentalthings.com...(an Austin based jewelry artist who we came across at ACL) they are all so pretty! I have been trying to keep my hands off of them to let others get the chance to buy them and take their pick, but i am not sure i can wait any longer!


so cute!the one i am leaning toward looks alot like this one but it has a leaf and a little flower with a pearl in it.

i originally fell in love with this one:what do you think?

i am just in the shopping spirit because i have been badgered about christmas from my mom and mom-in-law. As I look for other people, i naturally find stuff i like!

leave us alone, Ike!

A woman just came into the store and told me she was just browsing and that she and her husband had evacuated from Houston because of Hurricane Ike. They are staying at the hotel behind the shop. I got to talk to her and find out that they had sought refuge in Fredericksburg just last week because of Gustav. She seemed a bit shaken up

She had no intention of buying anything, just killing time and then she found a special little plaque. It said "STORMS always lose out to the SUN." She told me that she would put that up in their hotel room. I thought that was so sweet.

*EDIT* she came back and bought two more for people she met at the hotel!

i have a fear of going to the bank.

Have I ever told you that I have a fear of the bank? Somehow every time I go, I do something wrong. Lately this fear has been amplified at Wells Fargo because my account says Holly Jones and my ID says Holly Duke. Geez. Sometimes Britt offers up the idea that I should be a bank teller for some extra cash. How can I work there if I can't even make a successful trip through the drive-thru?

One day I will grow up. One day.

p.s. I have tried to post pictures from our trip to Atlanta but my internet connection is lacking.

break time

I, along with my Hello Kitty sewing machine, made a lap quilt! I just wanted to see if I could do it and am pretty happy with the turnout. I used Amy Butler's Midwest Modern fabric. I just love the colors! Now that Britt and I have completed all of these projects I think it's time for a little break.

Off to Atlanta we go! Be back next week!

50 simple things kids can do...

As many of you know, my minor at Baylor was Environmental Studies. My first semester at Baylor I took the intro class and fell in love. Later, I realized that I was actually falling in love for the second time in my life. I could now remember my environmental efforts as an elementary school student that included going door to door to collect change for "pennies for the planet" and me begging my parents to cut the six pack rings!

I have recently blamed Nickelodeon for this strange interest(and maybe my family of Democrats, but they take no credit). You may remember the "Big Help." each year I would call in and pledge to Ren or Stimpy how many hours I would spend helping the planet that summer. From here I started my own "recycling club" with my friends. Needless to say, that didn't work out. How come no other 4th grader cared that that glass container that his applesauce was in will never decompose?

So this past weekend I went to Abilene to stay with my parents for a few days. They have been remodeling and cleaning so I had a box waiting for me of stuff my mom couldn't toss out. And in that box I found the true culprit for my love of the Earth:

Over the last week Britt and I have both read through this. It was published in 1990 ( i was 6) and it blew us away. The content of this book is the same of articles being published today in shiny magazines about "Going Green."

At first I was surprised about this and now I am disheartened. Why did it take 20 years to make the things in this book "hip"?

icebox

Several months ago Britt and I purchased a little old icebox from our neighborhood junk/antique shop, Laverty's. Apparently this little gem once had a handle on top instead of drawers. In this compartment is where you would put in your block of ice to cool the food in the lower shelves. Well, we stripped it, sanded it, and painted that sucker! This was quite a task considering the 5+ coats of paint on it. It took us forever, but here it is:
I really like how it turned out and how it fills out some of the space in our gigantic dining room.

When we were done painting, I went back in and lined the drawers and shelves with Martha Stewart wrapping paper. Isn't it cute?

click away!

go HERE for a good time....

teehee.. i saw this link posted on http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

before and after

Britt's grandmother gave us a gorgeous table and chairs to match that she used back-in-the-day. We are using the table as a desk and now have chairs "floating" all around the house. When Anna Maria Horner's "Drawing Room" fabric came out, I wanted any excuse to get my hands on the gorgeous textiles. I decided we must recover the chairs. Britt and I covered 4 in this teal print. (It ironically resembles the original fabric, but oh well)

Then we were left with 2 to cover in this beautiful "sketch book" print. These are in the dining room.

I love this fabric so much that i would consider wallpapering my walls with it. You can't help but smile when you see all of those bright colors!

Now the question is what to do about the chair color. I don't really want to go through the trouble of painting them, but that wood is a bit dark don't you think?

Well my cheesecake was not quite as beautiful as Martha's but it was yummy!


The 4th was a great day! It consisted of sleeping in, swimming, Wall-E, cooking out, fireworks, and great friends!The pool was so warm that Ben put ice in it.


Britt as Micheal Phelps.

Anna and me.

Avery whacked me in the face with her festive headband.

Happy 4th!

yummm...

I hope you have a great Independence Day!

(i plan on making this glorified cheesecake. Hope I don't end up eating it all by myself!)